The J.M. Smucker Co., parent company of Hostess and other snack brands, announced the election of Katie Williams to the role of chief marketing officer, reporting to Mark Smucker, chief executive officer and chair of the board, effective March 9. 

"We are thrilled to welcome Katie to the company. She brings deep expertise and a strong track record of building leading brands," says Smucker. "I am confident she will help to advance our portfolio of leading brands forward and elevate our world-class marketing capabilities."  

Williams brings more than 20 years of experience building leading brands, most recently having served as U.S. CMO for Haleon, a multinational consumer health company. At Haleon, she led commercial and brand strategy for a broad portfolio that includes consumer health brands such as Advil, Sensodyne, Tums, EmergenC, and Centrum. Before Haleon spun-off from parent company GSK in 2022, Williams served as U.S. CMO for GSK, and earlier in her career she held marketing leadership positions for Mondelēz and Kraft-Heinz. 

"Throughout my career, I have relentlessly focused on driving sustainable brand growth and building high-performing teams. I look forward to continuing this work at Smucker," says Williams. "I am honored to have this opportunity to serve as a steward for this incredible portfolio and to support this team's continued success in building brands consumers love."  

Gail Hollander, CMO, who previously announced her intent to retire, will remain with the organization in an advisory role until April 30.  

The J.M. Smucker Co. is on the current Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery “Top 50 Snack & Bakery Companies” list. Click here to view the current “Top 50” rankings.